Running With Mia
by lightwhispercat
Summary: The 12th Doctor, after spending twenty-four years with River in Darillium, knows that he will never see her again. Filled with grief, he goes exploring again. He meets a vivacious young girl named Mia who seems to remind him of someone... Together, they will have the adventures of a lifetime. Don't worry, there's going to be plenty of River, Amy, and maybe even some Clara...
1. Meeting Mia

The Doctor approached the girl.

"What's your name?"

"Um… Mia. Look, we haven't got a lot of time. Can you just grab me that gun?"

"I don't like guns," said the Doctor. "We're doing this without weapons."

Mia scowled.

"So you want to be sacrificed to the Tampeyan gods?"

"No, no, no, but I hate guns! No guns!" hissed the Doctor, adjusting his sonic sunglasses.

Mia flipped her fiery red hair off of her shoulders. "Get out of the way, old man."

"I am _not_ an old man!" cried the Doctor, frustrated.

"You said you were two thousand and fourteen."

"Yes, but I _look_ young. That's the point. I _look-_ "

"Just forget it, sweetie."

 _Sweetie? Nobody called the Doctor "Sweetie" and got away with it. That is, nobody except her. River Song. The Doctor's heart ached whenever he thought of her. They had travelled together for twenty-four years before the night on Darillium ended. But she was gone now; saved forever to the library's database._

"Don't call me that."

His voice was serious, even somewhat aggressive, and Coral took the hint.

"Ok. No guns, no nicknames. You're boring, Doctor."

"I'm not boring! I've got sonic sunglasses and I play the guitar! I'm the Doctor and I'm cool!"

He made a face.

"Sorry, that's not me anymore. Different face, different body. I used to be cool and now I'm… what am I? Well, never mind. We've got a job to do. Let's go save these four thousand people."

"Four thousand and three, Doctor. Come on."


	2. Meeting the TARDIS

"That was _amazing!_ " cried the Doctor as they ran from the scene of the wreckage. "How did you know they would keep the circuitry inside of the fireplace?"

"Just luck, old man," purred Mia cheekily.

"I thought I told you not to call me that."

"Really? I wasn't listening. Well, it suits you."

"I don't like it."

"Too bad. Say, would you give me a lift? My ship crashed on Tampey."

The Doctor stared long and hard at Mia, as though he were evaluating whether she was worthy of the TARDIS.

"Well, alright," he said grudgingly. "You can come along, but only for one trip."

He flung open the doors of the TARDIS.

"After you."

Mia entered slowly, gazing around in astonishment.

Finally, she spoke.

"Is this all?"

"All? This is the TARDIS! It's bigger on the inside and it can travel through time and space. Aren't you impressed by that? What more do you want?"

"Well, I was expecting something a little more… modern. 51st century modern. It's too Victorian."

"Victorian? That's a first."

"Yes, with the bookshelves and the round thingys. Those bookshelves would be way cooler if they were made of glass or something."

Immediately, the bookshelves began to glow. A second later, they were clear, shining glass.

"Ooo, she can hear me. A spaceship that's also a sensitive being. Does she have a name?"

"You're very observant. She's called the TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Mia sighed contentedly.

"She's a little old fashioned but she's beautiful."

The TARDIS beeped happily.

"Well, we'd better be off," announced Mia loudly, straightening up. "Can I fly her?"

"No, of course not. It takes years of training to learn how to fly the TARDIS."

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Doctor. Men and their vehicles. Mind you, I love them too, so I suppose I can't make fun. Now, I wonder what this button does..."

She reached over and jammed at one of the buttons on the console.

"Mia, you can't-"

"Oooh, that's brilliant! She's speaking to me- level one telepathic field, probably-"

Mia pulled a lever, _the_ lever, and the TARDIS wheezed happily as it landed.

"Stop it!" cried the Doctor. "You're not even supposed to communicate with her! She's not even supposed to _like_ you! She never likes anyone until she's known them for a while!"

 _Well, that was not quite true. River had been the exception, but then the TARDIS had probably just been remembering backward, like the Doctor had remembered Me. Besides, River was the child of the TARDIS._


	3. Meeting the Paternoster Gang

Mia and Jenny sat in the kitchen, chatting. The Doctor was off repairing the TARDIS, and Madame Vastra was probably eating some criminal somewhere. They had set Strax the task of preparing dinner, something that he was not in the least bit excited about.

"So how long have you been traveling with the Doctor?" asked Jenny, folding her hands on the table.

"Six months, I think, more or less. So who was that Clara you were talking about earlier?"

"She was one of the Doctor's companions. She was impossible. Jumped into his timestream, and placed identical copies of herself along his timeline."

"So I'm not the first?"

"No, Miss, far from it. Hasn't the TARDIS told you? She usually tells his companions that he's traveled with other girls just to make them jealous."

The TARDIS, in fact, had not told her this.

"She probably just likes me too much," joked Mia.

"Yes, that's the strange thing. She's abused most of his other companions to put them in line- She hid Clara's bedroom for three weeks and she moved Amy's around every night so she couldn't find her way back to the console room. You must be quite special if she hasn't done anything to you."

"She taught me how to fly her."

"Well, I'm not saying that that's impossible but I don't think it has ever happened before- well, actually, there _was_ River, but she was different."

"River?"

"The Doctor's wife. She was the child of the TARDIS. Anyway, I need to go to the market to buy some things. Will you come with me or do you prefer the company of Strax?"

* * *

"Goodbye!" called Madame Vastra, waving with her left arm as she hugged Jenny protectively with her right. Strax stood beside them, wearing his characteristic scowl.

"See you around!" cried Mia. They began to walk off towards the alleyway where the TARDIS was hidden.

Suddenly, a familiar wheezing noise filled their ears.

Mia gasped.

"Should I destroy it?" called the potato-faced Sontaran.

" _Shut up_ , Strax!" hissed Jenny.

The TARDIS materialized in front of them and out stepped a short brunette, bent over coughing.

"Doctor, where'd you land us _now?_ I thought this was supposed to be Space Florida!"

"I'm sorry, Clara! We appear to be in Victorian London in the year- say, _hello_ Strax!"

A tall man in suspenders and a bow tie strode out of the TARDIS, clapping his hands.

"So sorry to intrude. Look, everybody's here! Vastra, Jenny, Strax, and-"

He gasped, staring straight at Mia.

"No, no, that can't be- no, completely impossible-"

Mia raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you get the TARDIS?" she called out, crossing her arms protectively.

Clara frowned, then began to speak:

"He's the Doctor, he travels in the TARDIS. Say, you look like-"

"Amelia Pond!" cried the man in the bow tie, grinning from ear to ear. He ran forward and embraced Mia protectively.

"Yes, that's my name, so?" challenged Mia, crossing her arms.

The older Doctor gasped.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's who you reminded me of! All this time and I couldn't place it-"

The younger Doctor let go of Mia.

"But this is impossible! This- this- you didn't- What did you do to your hair?"

Mia hugged her tight red curls protectively.

"It's always been like this. Who are you, anyway?" She cleared her throat. "Wait, wait, don't tell me. I bet you know me from the future, don't you? Why do you have the TARDIS, though?"

The bow-tied man ignored her question, focusing his attention on his older self.

"You look like a Roman I met once- wait, wait, Amelia and a Roman- Rory, is that you?" he cocked his head. "I didn't know you could regenerate-"

"Ok, everyone, shut up!" cried the eldest Doctor. "You- Amelia- you told me your name was Mia-"

"It's called a nickname-"

"Mia- Amelia Pond- why didn't you say you were a Pond-"

"No, stop, this is hurting my head too much!" cried out both Doctors in unison.

"Really, it's not funny!" they yelled, turning toward each other. "Stop it already!"

"I remember this!" panted the eldest Doctor. "You, me, the Roman, oh! oh! oh! Why didn't I think of this before?"

He slapped his face with his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh! I'm so stupid! Of course! Why couldn't I see it before?"

He slapped his face again.

"Come on, Mia- Amelia, whatever your name is! With me! To the TARDIS! Now!" cried Mia's Doctor, grabbing her hand and breaking off at a run.

Clara and the Doctor watched Mia and the Doctor leave.

"Who was he?" asked Clara.

"Well, I'm just hazarding a guess-"

"Hazard away."

"I think- I think he was me from the future. Which is impossible, since I don't have any regenerations left unless- unless-"

"But, Doctor," said Clara, crossing her arms, "he didn't recognize me. He didn't even say hello. Why didn't he know me? What happens to me, Doctor? Where am I in the future?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Clara. I don't know. I really don't know."

They sat in silence for a while.

"But let's say we go exploring around London." He turned to Madame Vastra, who was obviously gaping even though her features were covered with a black veil. "So, seen anything interesting lately?"


	4. Meeting Himself

Mia and Jenny sat in the kitchen, chatting. The Doctor was off repairing the TARDIS, and Madame Vastra was probably eating some criminal somewhere. They had set Strax the task of preparing dinner, something that he was not in the least bit excited about.

"So how long have you been traveling with the Doctor?" asked Jenny, folding her hands on the table.

"Six months, I think, more or less. So who was that Clara you were talking about earlier?"

"She was one of the Doctor's companions. She was impossible. Jumped into his timestream, and placed identical copies of herself along his timeline."

"So I'm not the first?"

"No, Miss, far from it. Hasn't the TARDIS told you? She usually tells his companions that he's traveled with other girls just to make them jealous."

The TARDIS, in fact, had not told her this.

"She probably just likes me too much," joked Mia.

"Yes, that's the strange thing. She's abused most of his other companions to put them in line- She hid Clara's bedroom for three weeks and she moved Amy's around every night so she couldn't find her way back to the console room. You must be quite special if she hasn't done anything to you."

"She taught me how to fly her."

"Well, I'm not saying that that's impossible but I don't think it has ever happened before- well, actually, there _was_ River, but she was different."

"River?"

"The Doctor's wife. She was the child of the TARDIS. Anyway, I need to go to the market to buy some things. Will you come with me or do you prefer the company of Strax?"

"Goodbye!" called Madame Vastra, waving with her left arm as she hugged Jenny protectively with her right. Strax stood beside them, wearing his characteristic scowl.

"See you around!" cried Mia. They began to walk off towards the alleyway where the TARDIS was hidden.

Suddenly, a familiar wheezing noise filled their ears.

Mia gasped.

"Should I destroy it?" called the potato-faced Sontaran.

" _Shut up_ , Strax!" hissed Jenny.

The TARDIS materialized in front of them and out stepped a short brunette, bent over coughing.

"Doctor, where'd you land us _now?_ I thought this was supposed to be Space Florida!"

"I'm sorry, Clara! We appear to be in Victorian London in the year- say, _hello_ Strax!"

A tall man in suspenders and a bow tie strode out of the TARDIS, clapping his hands.

"So sorry to intrude. Look, everybody's here! Vastra, Jenny, Strax, and-"

He gasped, staring straight at Mia.

"No, no, that can't be- no, completely impossible-"

Mia raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you get the TARDIS?" she called out, crossing her arms protectively.

Clara frowned, then began to speak:

"He's the Doctor, he travels in the TARDIS. Say, you look like-"

"Amelia Pond!" cried the man in the bow tie, grinning from ear to ear. He ran forward and embraced Mia protectively.

"Yes, that's my name, so?" challenged Mia, crossing her arms.

The older Doctor gasped.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's who you reminded me of! All this time and I couldn't place it-"

The younger Doctor let go of Mia.

"But this is impossible! This- this- you didn't- What did you do to your hair?"

Mia hugged her tight red curls protectively.

"It's always been like this. Who are you, anyway?" She cleared her throat. "Wait, wait, don't tell me. I bet you know me from the future, don't you? Why do you have the TARDIS, though?"

The bow-tied man ignored her question, focusing his attention on his older self.

"You look like a Roman I met once- wait, wait, Amelia and a Roman- Rory, is that you?" he cocked his head. "I didn't know you could regenerate-"

"Ok, everyone, shut up!" cried the eldest Doctor. "You- Amelia- you told me your name was Mia-"

"It's called a nickname-"

"Mia- Amelia Pond- why didn't you say you were a Pond-"

"No, stop, this is hurting my head too much!" cried out both Doctors in unison.

"Really, it's not funny!" they yelled, turning toward each other. "Stop it already!"

"I remember this!" panted the eldest Doctor. "You, me, the Roman, oh! oh! oh! Why didn't I think of this before?"

He slapped his face with his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh! I'm so stupid! Of course! Why couldn't I see it before?"

He slapped his face again.

"Come on, Mia- Amelia, whatever your name is! With me! To the TARDIS! Now!" cried Mia's Doctor, grabbing her hand and breaking off at a run.

Clara and the Doctor watched Mia and the Doctor leave.

"Who was he?" asked Clara.

"Well, I'm just hazarding a guess-"

"Hazard away."

"I think- I think he was me from the future. Which is impossible, since I don't have any regenerations left unless- unless-"

"But, Doctor," said Clara, crossing her arms, "he didn't recognize me. He didn't even say hello. Why didn't he know me? What happens to me, Doctor? Where am I in the future?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Clara. I don't know. I really don't know."

They sat in silence for a while.

"But let's say we go exploring around London." He turned to Madame Vastra, who was obviously gaping even though her features were covered with a black veil. "So, seen anything interesting lately?"


	5. Meeting Amelia?

"Ok, _what_ is going on here?" hissed Mia as soon as they were back in the TARDIS. "You, tell me now-"

"Sorry, that was my past self- it's complicated. Anyway, you said that your name was Amelia Pond."

"Yes, my real name. I just go by Mia."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You never asked."

The Doctor sighed, exasperated. She could be so- so _difficult_ at times.

"There's a girl that looks like you- name's Amelia- traveled with me- Amelia Pond- no, no, no, this isn't-"

"Doctor, please slow down and try to form coherent sentences so that I can understand you."

"Ok. You're Amelia Pond, but you aren't. How did you get on Tampey?"

"My mum gave me a spaceship. It was a piece of junk, too-"

"Very good, very good. Now we're getting somewhere. This mum of yours- hold on, but you didn't have a dad, right?"

"No, he was an alien. I told you that, didn't I? I never met him. Mum said he died. That's all I know."

"Ok, so your mum must have gotten the technology from him- but you're not _my_ Amelia, but you look just like her-"

"Please, Doctor, I'm not following a word you're saying-"  
"We're going somewhere!" he interrupted, entering coordinates and pulling a lever. "There's a little girl in a garden waiting out there, you know."

"You're not making sense, Doctor."

"It doesn't matter, we need to go!"

He threw open the TARDIS doors and raced out as quickly as possible. Mia followed suit.

They were in a huge room lined with shelves upon shelves of books.

"No, no, NO" screamed the Doctor. "No, this is not Amy Pond's garden!"

Then he realized where they were, and he gasped.

"No, not here, not now," he muttered softly, horror creeping into his eyes. "I've just lost you again, I can't go through this!"

He turned to the TARDIS.

"You _never_ take me where I want to go! Never, never never! Just this once, _please,_ could you do something right?"

Suddenly, Mia keeled over.

"Mia Pond! Are you alright?" cried the Doctor hurrying over to her.

"No, I'm fine- she's- she's talking to me again-"

Mia's eyes opened wide and her body went limp.

"I don't always take you where you want to go," she rasped, "but I always take you where you need to go."

She straightened up.  
"That's what she said. The TARDIS, I mean," corrected Mia, blushing. The Doctor didn't seem to notice her slip of the tongue.

"Yes, yes, of course! You're brilliant, by the way," he said, kissing Mia on the forehead. "Ok! So we need to be here! At the biggest library in the universe! Why, why, why?"

He slapped his face again.

"Something- a disturbance- how long has it been since I was here last? Probably-"

Suddenly, a gunshot echoed through the corridor. Mia's scream followed a second later.


	6. Meeting the Murderer

"Mia, Mia, are you okay?" cried the Doctor anxiously, catching her as she fell down to the ground.

"What does it look like, old man?" she breathed out with difficulty, clutching at the deep red bloodstain on her chest. "Don't worry, it's only one of the hearts. I've still got a couple minutes left."

 _One of the hearts? No, that couldn't be…_

He looked up to see a man standing some fifty feet away, holding up a gun.

"You- you coward!" he screamed. "Why would you do something like that?"

Mia cried out in pain, and he looked back at her.

"It's going to be alright, Mia. Stay with me, stay with me!" whispered the Doctor.

"Don't pretend, Doctor. I'm dying, but I can fix that," she huffed, gritting her teeth.

"Oh, Mia, I'm so, so sorry-"

"Don't be. Doctor, my mum told me that if I ever met someone that I trusted entirely, with not just-" She screamed again, shaking at the pain. "Not just my life, but the fate of the whole universe, then I should tell them something. And I've met that person- it's you."

"What was it?" breathed the Doctor anxiously. Now that Mia was going to die, he didn't really care about whatever it was, but he wanted to make her happy.

She lifted her head, wincing in pain, and whispered a single word in his ear.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Mia, this mother of yours- who was she?"


	7. Meeting Mia II

"Melody Pond," breathed Amelia. "That's what she went by. Melody."

And then she screamed, not in pain, but in realization.

"Get away from me, Doctor! Run, if you want to live!" she cried. "I think something's happening to me…"

A beautiful, gentle golden glow radiated from her hands.

"Here I go…"

And then she shrieked as streams of the brightest light shot from her hands and face, tearing apart the walls and ceiling of The Library, the biggest Library in the universe. Columns collapsed and books burned with a horrible, crackling noise; her murderer collapsed, dead, on the ground.

The Doctor watched from afar, comprehension dawning in his eyes.

"River's daughter," he breathed in wonder.

And then silence fell, and all stopped. Amelia Pond (or whatever her name was) stood, panting, in the center of the hallway.

Except now she wasn't the same Amelia Pond, with River's kinky hair (but red), and Amy's pale face. Her hair was in jet black dreadlocks and her skin very dark.

"Well, that was weird," she managed, examining her new body. "Hmmm, that's interesting, isn't it? I think I'm taller- a lot taller, actually. Wait, my arms! What on Earth happened to me?"

"It's called regeneration, Amelia. Get used to it, you'll be doing it a lot," sounded a familiar voice.

"No," breathed the Doctor, staring at the source of the voice. "But you died!"

"What, not even a 'hello'?"

"But- but- but- you can't just change the future like that!"

"It's called marriage, sweetie."


	8. Continue Snogging, If You Must

"I'm still really confused here," called Mia. "Would you two stop snogging for a second and pay attention to me?"

"Sorry, honey," said River, breaking away from the Doctor. "It's complicated. Really complicated."

"That's not helping."

"Ok," cut in the Doctor. "This is Melody Pond, your mother. She also goes by River Song."

"But I thought that you died, Mum."

"I did. But your regeneration energy seeped into the database that my mind was stored in. It broke the database, but it set me free and gave me a body."

"How is that possible?"

"Because I'm your mother. Your regeneration energy was genetically similar to mine, so it was able to create me a new body."

"What, exactly, is this regeneration energy you speak of?"

"I'll explain that later. Any more questions?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes, are you two romantically involved? I've never seen Mum snog anyone for that long."

"I try to protect your virgin eyes," giggled River, winking.

"We're sort of, um, married," explained the Doctor, hugging his wife protectively. "By the way, who's the lucky father? Ramone? Please tell me it's not Hydroflax."  
"Spoilers! Wouldn't you like to find out!"

"Actually, yes."

"Spoilsport!" teased River flirtatiously. "Why don't we go into the TARDIS and do a scan?"

"Why don't you just tell me?"

"Hmmm… why don't you make me?"

"Oooh, I'd love to."

The Doctor leaned in close to River and-

"Oi! Could you guys please stop flirting! In case you haven't noticed, I've sort of changed bodies over here and I'm really _not_ in the mood!" shouted Mia. "And then suddenly my Mum's _married?_ Really, I think I should be high on the list here."

"Right, sorry, Mia," said the Doctor, releasing River and coming over to the little girl. "Well, I really don't know much about this whole situation, so _if_ you would be so kind…"

He looked pointedly at Melody Pond.

"Doctor, I'd like to introduce you," said River, "to your daughter. Amelia, Doctor. Doctor, Mia."

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours.

Finally, Mia spoke.

"Um, well, I'm going to go see what I can do about this new hair. Continue snogging, if you must."

* * *

 **And that's the end, my friends, except for an epilogue that will be out soon. By the way, if you're wondering why this chapter title broke the pattern, I have an explanation.**

 **"Changing the pattern of the titles. It's called marriage, honey."**

 **Sorry. I just had to. :D**


End file.
